Chapter III: Preface (3)

It is rather a winter visitant, being most frequently observed in the cold season, although many pairs remain in suitable localities throughout the country to nest and rear their young. Upon this point Professor Newton has remarked that “a line drawn across England from the Start Point, slightly curving round the Derbyshire hills, and ending at the mouth of the Tees, will, it is believed, mark off the habitual breeding-range of this species in the United Kingdom; for southward and eastward of such a line it never, or only occasionally breeds, while to the westward and northward its nest may be looked for in any place suited to its predilections, as above described, whether in this island or in Ireland, where, according to Thompson, it is extensively, though not universally distributed. In Scotland, says Macgillivray, it is rare to the north of Inverness, but it is an occasional summer visitor to Orkney, and in Shetland it occurs towards the end of summer, though it is not known to have been met with in the Outer Hebrides. In the south-west of England its numbers are in summer comparatively small, but it breeds annually in Cornwall and on Dartmoor; and as we pass northward its numbers increase, until in parts of Scotland, perhaps, they attain their maximum. Nests have been reported from Dorset, Wilts, Hampshire, Sussex, and even Kent; but in those counties they are confessedly casual, and only in the case at Chenies, in Buckinghamshire, mentioned by Mr. Gould (‘Contr. Orn.,’ 1849, p. 137), does the species seem to have been more than an accidental settler.”

The Grey Wagtail may be at once distinguished by having the vent and upper tail coverts of a sulphur-yellow, and by its great length of tail. In summer it has a black patch upon the throat, of a triangular shape when viewed in profile, and bordered with white, but in winter this black patch disappears, and the throat is then of a pale yellowish-white.

It has been stated by Temminck and other naturalists who have followed him, that the black throat is the peculiar attribute of the male bird in the summer or breeding plumage; but this is a mistake. Both sexes have a black throat in the breeding season, as I know from having observed them when paired, and from having examined numerous specimens of which the sex had been carefully ascertained by dissection.

The haunts of the Grey Wagtail are somewhat different to those of its congeners. It affects pools and streams, especially where there is a good current, and may frequently be seen perched upon boulders and mill-dams, where it feeds upon the freshwater limpets (_Ancylus fluviatilis_), and other small mollusca which are found attached in such situations.

The nest is generally placed not far from the water, in some inequality of the bank, or crevice of an overhanging rock. Upon a rugged mountain stream in Northumberland some years since, I daily observed a pair of these birds, and derived much pleasure in watching their building operations. It was some time before I could discover the nest, so skilfully was it concealed, for the birds had selected a crevice in a rock which was much overgrown with moss, and by constructing their nest entirely of this moss, it would easily have escaped observation, had I not patiently watched for the ingress and egress of the owners.

The geographical range of the Grey Wagtail beyond the British Islands has not been satisfactorily determined, in consequence of the difficulty of identifying the species amongst other allied forms which are to be met with in the confines of Europe and Asia. It certainly does not go far north in Europe, perhaps not beyond Northern Germany, but southward it is met with in winter in most of the countries bordering the Mediterranean, as well as in North Africa, Madeira, and the Azores.

THE YELLOW WAGTAIL.
(_Motacilla Rayi._)

By many authors the Yellow Wagtails have been separated from the Pied Wagtails under the generic term _Budytes_, proposed by Cuvier, not only in consequence of their very different colouration, but also on account of their possessing a longer and more strongly-developed hind claw. The numerous intermediate forms, however, which the researches of modern naturalists have brought to light from various parts of the Old World, have rendered this subdivision less necessary or desirable than it may originally have appeared to be. In outward form, internal structure, and habits, they are all Wagtails, and one generic term for the whole has, at all events, the merit of simplicity.

The Yellow Wagtail, whose plumage in the breeding season equals in brightness that of the Canary, is one of the most attractive of all our summer migrants. When running over the pastures and fields of sprouting wheat, the olive-green colour of the dorsal plumage renders it very inconspicuous, but when perched upon some rail, or clod upon the bare fallow, the bright yellow of the under-parts contrasts vividly with the duller surroundings, and at once attracts the attention of the passer-by. Its favourite haunts are the marshes and water-meadows where cattle are pastured. Here it finds plenty of food amongst the insects which are disturbed by the grazing kine, and the numerous small and thin-shelled mollusca which abound in such situations.

When the nest has to be constructed—and it is always upon the ground—more sheltered spots are selected, such as a tussock of rough grass, or the foot of a bunch of tares or clover, and I have occasionally discovered a nest under an overhanging clod upon a bare fallow. Thus in regard to its mode of nesting it differs essentially from the well-known Pied Wagtail. Its note, too, is very different, and its flight much sharper, and with bolder curves. The eggs are quite dissimilar, being so closely freckled over with yellowish-clay colour, like those of the Grey Wagtail, as to appear at a little distance almost uniformly so coloured; whereas the eggs of the Pied and White Wagtails are white, freckled with ash-grey, chiefly at the larger end.

The Yellow Wagtail generally arrives in this country during the first week of April (for many years I have noted the 5th of that month as the average date for its appearance), and it departs during the first week of September. For some time previous to its departure, the young and old assemble in flocks, and it is not unusual to see several united family parties in the meadows, numbering from a dozen to a score of individuals.

Although generally distributed during the summer months throughout the greater part of England and Scotland, it is said to be somewhat rare in Ireland, where its presence has been detected by comparatively few observers. So much more attention, however, is paid to ornithology now-a-days, that this species, like many others, may be reported to be more common than formerly because more observed. In the central and southern portions of Europe it is not uncommon, and crossing the Mediterranean, as winter approaches, it passes down both the east and west coasts of Africa as far as Natal on the one side and Angola on the other. A considerable number, however, pass the winter in Africa, a good many degrees further north.

THE GREY-HEADED WAGTAIL.
(_Motacilla flava._)

Similar in form and general colouration to the last-named, amongst the flocks of Yellow Wagtails that visit us in the spring the grey-headed species no doubt often escapes observation. But it is not on this account to be considered rare. On the contrary, there is good reason to believe that it is a regular migrant to this country, and this is not surprising when we consider that it is the common Yellow Wagtail of northern Europe, the true _Motacilla flava_ of Linnæus. It differs chiefly from Ray’s Wagtail in having a well-defined cap of a grey colour on the head, a white instead of a yellow streak over the eye, and a white chin instead of a yellow one.[37] It frequents the same situations as the last-named, and its habits are very similar.

The specimens which have been obtained and recorded as British, and which amount to a considerable number, have been for the most part met with on the coasts of the eastern, southern, and south-western counties of England, and almost invariably in the spring of the year. There can be no doubt that it breeds here; indeed, the fact of its having done so in two or three instances has been already recorded. In the “Zoologist” for 1870 (p. 2343), Mr. J. Watson of Gateshead, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, writes:—“I have seen a good many notices in the ‘Zoologist’ of the occurrence of the Grey-headed Wagtail: it may interest you to hear of its breeding in this neighbourhood. Two nests were found by a friend of mine last year on some swampy ground near here. This year on the 13th of June I found another; and on the 8th of July my friend shot two young birds beginning to assume their mature plumage: one of these birds is in the possession of and was identified by Mr. John Hancock of Newcastle.”

But although the greater number of recorded British specimens have been obtained in the South of England, a few have been noticed from time to time in Scotland, and Dr. Saxby has on several occasions seen the species even as far north as Shetland. Mr. Blake Knox thinks that it occurs in Ireland, but that it is probably much overlooked, or perhaps confounded with the last-mentioned species. As it is common in summer in most of the countries of Western Europe, one would naturally expect to meet with it more frequently at the same season in Great Britain; and the increasing attention which is being paid to ornithology, and especially to the birds of particular districts, will no doubt result in the establishment of this species in the list of British birds as an annual summer migrant.

THE MEADOW PIPIT.
(_Anthus pratensis._)

Premising that attention is not confined to species which are British, it is generally admitted by ornithologists that the Pipits are a difficult group to identify. They are subject to such variation in size and colour that it has often happened that one and the same species has been described four or five times as new, under as many new names. Gradually, however, as the researches of naturalists become extended, and the transport of specimens from various quarters of the globe is facilitated, the difficulty wears off, and we are enabled to define with sufficient accuracy the limits of each species and the variations of plumage within those limits.

Were I to confine my remarks in the present instance to those Pipits only which are regular summer migrants to this country, I should not have to mention more than two species. It may be well, however, to take a glance at all those which have a claim to be included in the British list, distinguishing them under the heads of “Residents,” “Summer Migrants,” and “Occasional Visitants.”

Two species only are resident with us throughout the year—the well-known Meadow Pipit or Titlark (_Anthus pratensis_), and the larger Rock Pipit (_Anthus obscurus_). Both these, however, are to a certain extent migratory at the approach of winter, assembling in small flocks, and moving from place to place in search of food. The Tree Pipit (_Anthus arboreus_) visits us regularly in April, and remains in this country until September; and there can be little doubt, from recent observations of naturalists in different parts of the country, that the Water Pipit (_Anthus spinoletta_, Linnæus, or _Anthus aquaticus_, Bechstein) is also an annual summer migrant to our shores. At irregular intervals, and in addition to these, we are occasionally visited by Richards’ Pipit, the Tawny Pipit, the Red-throated Pipit, and the Pennsylvanian Pipit. Of the two resident species, as well as the Tree Pipit, it can scarcely be necessary to say much, for their appearance and habits, if not well known to all, are described in almost every book on British birds. After pointing out their distinguishing characters, therefore, my remarks will refer chiefly to the geographical distribution of the species.

The Pipits hold an intermediate place between the Wagtails and Larks, having the slender bill of the former, and, with one exception, the long hind claw of the latter. Like these birds, they live almost entirely on the ground, where they seek their food, build their nests, and rear their young. Low-lying meadows and marshy places, the margin of tidal harbours, and the seashore are the favourite haunts of the Pipits. In such situations, except in very hard weather, they find abundance of food, consisting chiefly of insect larvæ, small beetles, flies, seeds, and minute univalve mollusca. I have almost invariably found, in addition, that the stomachs contain little particles of grit or brick, swallowed no doubt to assist in triturating the food.

The Meadow Pipit (_Anthus pratensis_) is the smallest as well as the commonest species to be met with, and is generally dispersed throughout the British Islands, including Orkney and Shetland. It is by no means confined to the plains or open country, but is frequently to be met with on mountain sides, sometimes at a considerable elevation. Tourists and sportsmen must doubtless have remarked this when climbing the Scotch and Irish mountains. The late Mr. Wheelwright, in Lapland, found it “very high up on the fells;” Professor Salvadori remarked it on the Apennines; and Messrs. Elwes and Buckley include it in their list of the birds of Turkey as frequenting the mountains.

In summer it is common in Scandinavia, and Mr. Wheelwright found it nesting in Lapland. It goes as far north as the Faroe Isles and Iceland.[38] According to Professor Reinhardt,[39] Dr. Paulsen, in Sleswick, received a single specimen from Greenland in 1845; but he adds that he (Professor R.) never saw it there himself. The Meadow Pipit appears to be generally distributed throughout Europe, and at the approach of winter emigrates in a south-easterly direction by way of Sicily and the Ionian Islands to Palestine. Lord Lilford states that it is very common in Corfu and Epirus in winter.[40] Canon Tristram found it in large flocks throughout the winter in North Africa, “apparently on passage;” and in Southern Palestine and in the Plains of Sharon he remarked that it was very abundant. According to Sir R. Schomburgk, it occurs as far eastward as Siam; but Mr. Blyth considered the Siamese _pratensis_ to be the Red-throated Pipit (_A. cervinus_) in winter plumage. It is known to occur in India, however, as Mr. Hume has procured this species near Ferozpore, North-west India; and Mr. Blyth saw specimens from other parts of the North-west provinces. The range of this bird southwards, that is through Africa, seems to be very limited. According to Mr. Saunders, it is common in Spain in winter, but it is not included in Mr. Tyrwhitt Drake’s list of the birds of Morocco; and though Mr. Salvin shot a specimen at Kef Laks in the Eastern Atlas, it appears to occur in North-west Africa exceptionally. The Pipit of the Canaries, originally regarded as _A. pratensis_, has been described by Dr. Bolle[41] as distinct, under the name of Berthelot’s Pipit (_Anthus Berthelotii_). But Mr. Vernon Harcourt maintains—and so did the late Mr. Yarrell—that Madeiran specimens can in no degree be distinguished from specimens of _A. pratensis_ from other parts.

THE ROCK PIPIT.
(_Anthus obscurus._)

This Pipit, as already observed, is to be found on most parts of our coast throughout the year, except on that portion which extends from the Thames to the Humber, where it is only observed in spring and autumn during the period of migration. For although a resident species, inasmuch as individuals may be found on some parts of the coast throughout the year, it is also, to a certain extent, migratory, receiving a considerable accession to its numbers in spring, and a corresponding diminution in autumn. It may be distinguished from the common Meadow Pipit by its larger size, longer bill, tarsus, and toes, and by its having the upper portion of its plumage of a greener olive. The legs are of a much darker brown, and I have remarked that in freshly-killed specimens the soles of the feet are yellow, a circumstance which appears to have been generally overlooked, but which is worth noticing as an addition to its distinguishing characters. A considerable difference also will be observed in the two outer tail feathers on each side. In the Meadow Pipit the outermost tail feather is for the greater part white, and the next has half the tip of the inner web also white. In the Rock Pipit the same parts of these feathers are not white, although conspicuously lighter than the remaining portion.

The Rock Pipit found in Scandinavia (_Anthus rupestris_ of Nilsson), is considered by some to be distinct from the species which frequents our own shores, but, as I think, on extremely slender grounds. The points of difference have been thus stated: “They consist, so far as we can ascertain, merely in the presence of a bright buff or pale cinnamon tinge on the breast of the male in _A. rupestris_, and perhaps in that form being of a slighter build than _A. obscurus_. In the female of the so-called _A. rupestris_ the warm colour is much more faintly indicated; in some specimens it is doubtful whether it exists at all. The outer tail feathers, which in _A. spinoletta_ afford so sure a diagnosis, are in _A. rupestris_ just as dingy as in _A. obscurus_.”

There can be no doubt that the chemical constituents of colour in the plumage of birds are always more or less affected by climatic agency; and, this being so, one can hardly be justified in founding a new species on mere variation of colour, where there is at the same time no modification of structure. There can be little doubt that the Scandinavian Rock Pipit is identical with our own bird, the slight differences observable being easily accounted for through climate and the season of the year at which specimens are obtained.

The late Mr. Wheelwright makes no mention of this bird when treating of the ornithology of Lapland. Messrs. Godman met with it on the seashore at Bodö, Norway, “in tolerable abundance,” and Mr. Hewitson also saw it in Norway. Although Temminck says that it goes as far north as Greenland, this does not appear to be the case; for Professor Reinhardt, who has paid especial attention to the ornithology of Greenland, states that only two species of Pipit are to be met with there—namely, the American _Anthus ludovicianus_, which breeds there, and _A. pratensis_, of which, as above stated, a single specimen only is recorded to have been obtained. It is rather remarkable that Professor Blasius has not included the Rock Pipit in the avifauna of Heligoland, seeing that _A. cervinus_, _A. ludovicianus_, and _A. Richardi_ are all stated to have been taken on that island.[42]

Although found upon the shores of Holland, Belgium, and France, it either goes no farther to the south-west, or else it has been overlooked; for neither Mr. Howard Saunders, in his “List of the Birds of Southern Spain,” nor the Rev. A. C. Smith, in his “Sketch of the Birds of Portugal,” give it a place in the avifauna of those countries. Mr. C. A. Wright states (“Ibis,” 1869, p. 246) that he has only obtained a single specimen in Malta. Further eastward, namely, on the coasts of Epirus and Corfu, Lord Lilford found it to be common, and on this account it has been included by Messrs. Elwes and Buckley in their “List of the Birds of Turkey.” I am not sure whether it has been met with in Asia Minor, but probably it does not extend either eastward or southward beyond the coast line of the Mediterranean. The observations of naturalists certainly tend to prove that its proper habitat is Northern Europe, and perhaps nowhere is it commoner than in the British Islands.

THE TREE PIPIT.
(_Anthus arboreus._)

Although a regular summer visitant to England, the Tree Pipit, like the Nightingale, from some unexplained cause, is distributed over a very limited area. It never reaches Ireland, and is considered rare in Scotland, although the nest has been found as far north as Dumbarton, Aberdeen, Banff, and East Inverness.[43] Even in Wales and Cornwall it is a scarce bird, so that England may be said to be the western limit of its geographical range. Mr. Wheelwright never met with it in Lapland, but Messrs. Godman found it in June as far north as Bodö, in Norway, and from this latitude southwards to the Mediterranean it seems to be well known in summer. Mr. Howard Saunders says that it is generally distributed in Spain from autumn to spring, and he suspects that some remain to breed on the high plateaux. In Portugal, according to the Rev. A. C. Smith, it is rare. Mr. Wright, of Malta, states that it is very common in the island in spring and autumn, departing in May northwards, and returning in September and October. He adds that a few remain the winter. According to the observations of Lord Lilford, it is now and then seen at Corfu in winter, throughout which season it is found in small flocks, apparently on passage to North Africa. Mr. Layard does not include it in his “Birds of South Africa,” but, according to Professor Sundevall (“Svenska Foglarna,” p. 41), a specimen was killed by Wahlberg on the Limpopo, in Kaffirland, between lat. 25 deg. and 26 deg. S. Canon Tristram found it sparingly distributed in Palestine in winter, and in spring in the Jordan valley. It is recognised by naturalists in north-west India, and there can be little doubt that the Pipit which has been described from that country, and from China and Japan, under the name of _Anthus agilis_, Sykes, is only our old friend _A. arboreus_ in a different plumage from that which it assumes here in summer. Herr von Pelzeln says[44] that _agilis_ only differs from _arboreus_ in having a stouter bill, and he does not think that it can be specifically distinct, notwithstanding that Dr. Jerdon gives both species as inhabitants of India. On this point Mr. Hume says (“Ibis,” 1870, p. 287): “I took nine specimens of _arboreus_ from England and France, and compared them with our Indian birds. There was no single one of them to which an exact duplicate could not be selected from amongst my Indian series. That all our Indian Pipits known as _agilis_, _maculatus_, and _arboreus_ ought to be united as one species under the latter, or possibly some older, name, I can now scarcely doubt.”

THE WATER PIPIT.
(_Anthus spinoletta._)

In size this bird equals our well-known Rock Pipit, but may be distinguished by the vinous colour of the throat and breast, by the absence of spots or streaks upon the under parts, and by the outer tail feathers, which are marked with white, as in _A. pratensis_. It was named _spinoletta_ from the provincial name applied to the bird in Italy, whence Linnæus described it.[45] Pallas, however, altered the name to “_pispoletta_,” because Cetti affirmed that this was the correct Florentine term, and not _spinoletta_. Linnæus’s name, nevertheless, on the ground of priority, is entitled to precedence. The species was identified with _aquaticus_ of Bechstein by Bonaparte.[46]

This bird seems to have been first made known to English naturalists by Mr. Thomas Webster, of Manchester, who, in a communication to the “Zoologist” (p. 1023), stated that he had seen three birds at Fleetwood in October, 1843, which he had not the slightest hesitation in identifying with a Pipit described by M. Deby as _Anthus aquaticus_, Bechstein, and which to all appearance were totally distinct from the common Rock Pipit of our coast. In January, 1860, the Rev. M. A. Mathew, in a letter to Mr. Gould, called attention to the fact of his having procured a Pipit at Torquay, which was subsequently identified unhesitatingly with _A. aquaticus_ of Bechstein. Since that date, Mr. Gatcombe, of Plymouth, has noticed several other specimens in Devonshire, and a great many have been procured in Sussex, chiefly in the neighbourhood of Brighton. Thus the claim of this bird to rank as a British species has come to be pretty well established. M. Baily, in his “Ornithologie de la Savoie,” says that the Water Pipit is common at all seasons of the year both in Switzerland and Savoy. During winter it frequents the wet meadows, marshes, and unfrozen springs in the valleys, and about the end of March or beginning of April ascends the mountains, and resorts to the most sterile plateaux, fields, heaths, and stony places in the neighbourhood of water, where it nests on the ground under stones, sometimes in clefts in the rock, but oftener in the grass beneath the bilberry, whortleberry, or some creeping bush.

In the fall of the year it descends to the warmer valleys and frequents the margins of the rivers, whence it has derived the name of Water Pipit, making its way gradually southward as winter approaches. Mr. Saunders has met with it at Malaga in winter; but apparently it is not common in Spain, and, according to the Rev. A. C. Smith (“Sketch of the Birds of Portugal”) still less so in Portugal. Mr. Wright has met with it once in Malta, having shot a specimen there in November, 1860. It crosses the Mediterranean to North Africa. Canon Tristram met with it in Algeria, and Captain Shelley recognised it in Egypt. In the peninsula of Sinai it was found by Mr. C. W. Wyatt, frequenting the sides of the salt-ponds near Tor, and it is included in Mr. Strickland’s list of the birds of Asia Minor (“P. Z. S.,” 1836, p. 97) as being found on the coast in winter at Smyrna, whence it penetrates to Palestine (Tristram, “Ibis,” 1866, p. 289). Messrs. Elwes and Buckley have enumerated this amongst other species in their list of the birds of Turkey, and Ménétries states (“Cat. Rais. Caucas.,” p. 39) that it is common on the shores of the Caspian in April, May, and June. The range of this bird eastward is at present hardly determined; partly, perhaps, because the Pipits have been a good deal neglected for the sake of more attractive species, and partly on account of the difficulty which travellers usually experience in the identification of this difficult group of birds. That the Water Pipit penetrates to north-west India is to be inferred from the fact that Mr. Hume sent M. Jules Verreaux a specimen for identification from the Punjab west of the Sutlej.

RICHARD’S PIPIT.
(_Anthus Richardi._)

Out of compliment to the zealous amateur who first made known an example captured in autumn in Lorraine, the name of Richard’s Pipit has been bestowed on this bird, which is becoming better known to ornithologists in this country every year. Its superior size, stouter bill, greater length of leg, and longer hind claw, at once serve to distinguish it from the commoner species. As compared with the Rock Pipit, the largest of those with which we are most familiar, its dimensions are as follows:

Bill. Wing. Tarsus. Hind toe
Inches. Inches. Inches. with claw.
Inches.

_A. obscurus_ ·5 3·2 0·9 0·8
_A. Richardi_ ·6 3·6 1·2 1·2

Its occurrence in England has been noted, as might be expected, chiefly on the east and south coasts, in every month between September and April, both inclusive. At least fifty specimens have been seen or procured, distributed as follows: Northumberland, 2; Norfolk, 5; Shropshire, 1; Oxford, 1; Middlesex, 12; Kent, 3; Sussex, 5; Devonshire, 11; Cornwall and Scilly, 8. In the west of England, therefore, it would appear to be very rare, and in Ireland it is unknown.

The most northern locality, I believe, whence this species has been procured, is Heligoland, on which island, according to Professor Blasius, it is said to have been obtained by Herr Gätke.[47]

When staying at Antwerp in May, 1870, I saw three or four specimens which had been taken in that neighbourhood, but the owner of them considered the bird a rarity there. Mr. Howard Saunders obtained a couple near Malaga in the month of February, and learnt that in some winters it is not uncommon in southern Spain (“Ibis,” 1870, p. 216). Signor Bettoni, in his grand work on the birds which breed in Lombardy, mentions Richard’s Pipit as one of the characteristic species of the Lombard plains. “Nevertheless,” says Mr. Saunders (“Ibis,” 1869, p. 392), “he must not be understood to mean that it is in any way abundant, or even constant in that province; for the Count Turati assured me that it has never been discovered breeding there, and that, judging from the number of specimens enumerated as obtained in England, it is more common with us than with them. That its appearance is confined to the plains of Lombardy is probably the author’s meaning.” In Malta it is only found accidentally in spring and autumn, and Mr. Wright, who has paid so much attention to the ornithology of that island, has only been able to mention three examples as having come under his own notice.

It is rather singular that this bird should not cross the Mediterranean, and be found with other European Pipits during the winter months in North Africa. Nevertheless, I have not been able to find any mention of it in any of the North African lists which I have consulted, neither is it included in the late Mr. Strickland’s List of the Birds found in Asia Minor in winter (“P. Z. S.,” 1836, p. 97).

It is much commoner, however, in Asia than in Europe. Mr. Hodgson found it in Nepal,[48] and Mr. Hume says it breeds in Ladakh; Mr. Blyth has recorded its occurrence in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, and Mr. Blanford met with it in the Irawadi Valley. It is included by Sir R. Schomburgk in his List of the Birds of Siam (“Ibis,” 1864, p. 249), and, according to Mr. Swinhoe, is common in North China (Takoo and Peking) in September, and in Amoy, Formosa, and Hainan in winter.

THE TAWNY PIPIT.
(_Anthus campestris._)

Easily mistaken for Richard’s Pipit, this bird is, however, of a more sandy colour, and may be distinguished by its short hind claw. In Richard’s Pipit, it will be remembered, the hind claw is very long. Its real habitat may be said to be North Africa and Palestine. Canon Tristram calls it the common Pipit of the Sahara, and Mr. O. Salvin found it abundant on the plateau of Kef Laks and on the plains of Djendeli, in the Eastern Atlas. In Upper Egypt and Sinai it is occasionally plentiful, and is found all over the cultivated coast and hill districts of Palestine, where it is a permanent resident.

“The soil of the Sahara,” says Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun. (“Ibis,” 1871, p. 85), “is in some places soft and sandy, in others hard and pebbly. The Tawny Pipit affects the former, where there is little or no herbage. Its flight is undulating, like that of the Wagtails; and, like the latter, it twitters on the wing.” Canon Tristram, referring to the habits of this species in Palestine, where he obtained several nests on the bare hills, says (“Ibis,” 1866, p. 289), “It is one of the tamest of birds, and particularly affects the mule paths, flitting along in front of the traveller, and keeping unconcernedly a few yards ahead.” “The nest,” says Mr. Salvin, “is composed of roots, with a lining of horsehair, and is placed on the lee side of a bush. The eggs vary very much, some being light-coloured, and almost like wagtails’, while others are much darker and more profusely marked.”

Although, as above stated, North Africa and Palestine may be regarded as its home, the Tawny Pipit ranges a long way to the north and south of this tract, and is common in some parts of Southern Europe in summer. It is found as far northward as Sweden—where, as Mr. Wheelwright has remarked, it is confined to the sandy shores of the south—and accidentally in England, where specimens have been several times procured on the coasts of Sussex, and in Cornwall.[49]

Lord Lilford has observed that it is common in Spain in summer (“Ibis,” 1866, p. 178), an observation more recently confirmed by Mr. Howard Saunders (“Ibis,” 1869, p. 392). In Portugal, according to the Rev. A. C. Smith, it seems to be equally well known.

It is annually observed in Malta in spring and autumn, but never found there during the winter months (Wright, “Ibis,” 1864, p. 61). Lieut. Sperling, however, believes that it is not uncommon on the north coast of the Mediterranean in winter. South of the habitat assigned to it, this bird ranges through Abyssinia (whence I have seen a specimen in the collection of African birds belonging to Mr. Sharpe) to Mozambique, where, according to Lieut. Sperling, it is plentiful in winter; and Mr. Layard has included it amongst the birds of South Africa, having received specimens from Windvogelberg and the Knysna. It has a West African representative in _Anthus Gouldii_ of Frazer (Hartlaub, “Orn. West Afr.,” p. 73), which differs in its smaller size and darker colour, and in having the head of a uniform dull brown, instead of being streaked.

THE PENNSYLVANIAN PIPIT.
(_Anthus ludovicianus._)

On the authority of several good naturalists this species is stated to have occurred several times in the British Islands; but the general description of the specimens referred to applies as a rule so well to the _Anthus spinoletta_ above mentioned, that it is extremely difficult to say to which of the two species they belonged. It is of course far more probable that the visitors to our shores would be of European, not American, extraction. At the same time they have been described as according so well in every respect with the American _ludovicianus_, that we must either admit that the latter bird occasionally visits this country, or agree with Richardson and Swainson (“Faun. Bor. Americana,” ii. p. 231) that it is indistinguishable from _aquaticus_ of Bechstein, that is, _spinoletta_ of Linnæus.

Edwards was the first to notice this bird as a visitant to England, giving a description and figure of a specimen obtained near London in his “Gleanings” (vol. ii. p. 185, pl. 297). Montagu shortly afterwards noticed two in his “Ornithological Dictionary,” one of which had been taken in Middlesex, the other near Woolwich.

Macgillivray, in his “Manual of British Birds,” p. 169, minutely describes two Pipits which were shot near Edinburgh in June, 1824, and which he identifies clearly with the American species.

Mr. Turnbull, in his “Birds of East Lothian,” states (p. 40) that three Pennsylvanian Pipits were shot at Dunbar in East Lothian by Mr. Robert Gray, of Glasgow.

Mr. Bond has a Pipit, identified as belonging to this species, which was obtained at Freshwater, in the Isle of Wight, in September, 1865; while the most recent instance of the occurrence of this Pipit in England will be found in the “Zoologist” for 1870. But anyone who reads the correspondence relating to this instance (“Zool.” tom. cit. pp. 2021, 2067, and 2100) will see how difficult it is to identify a species when the specimen is not in fully adult plumage.

When it is remembered that _Anthus ludovicianus_, as stated by Professor Reinhardt (“Ibis,” 1861, p. 3), breeds in Greenland, and, according to Professor Blasius, is found in Heligoland (“Naumannia,” 1858), it is certainly not improbable that it should occasionally be found in the British Islands. At the same time it is very desirable that some more convincing evidence than that which already exists of its occurrence here should be placed upon record.

THE RED-THROATED PIPIT.
(_Anthus cervinus._)

The present bird has, as yet, been scarcely admitted into the British list. I have seen a specimen in the collection of Mr. Bond, which was killed at Unst, Shetland, on the 4th May, 1854, and about the same year, but in September, another in the same collection was shot at Freshwater in the Isle of Wight.

In the adult plumage the species is easily recognized by the ruddy brown colouring of the upper portions of the plumage, and by the rufous patch upon the throat.

In size it is equal to the Meadow Pipit, and by some naturalists it has been considered a permanent race or variety of that species; but the observations of Prof. Newton on this point[50] certainly tend to show that the species is a valid one. It was met with by him in June, 1855, when in company with Messrs. Wolley and Simpson, in a restricted locality in East Finmark, between Wadsö and Nyborg, and several well-identified nests were procured. A specimen procured in Heligoland is in Herr Gätke’s collection.

It is not uncommon as a winter visitant in Turkey, and Mr. Wright has shot many specimens in Malta, where he says it arrives in small flocks in spring and autumn. In Egypt and Nubia this bird quite takes the place of _A. pratensis_, and is sometimes very common there. It probably winters also in Palestine, although Canon Tristram, during his sojourn there at that season, only met with a single specimen on the coast of the plain of Sharon. It has been found in China, Japan, Formosa, and Hainan, by Mr. Swinhoe, who suggests that this bird in its winter plumage is the _Anthus japonicus_ of Temminck and Schlegel. Mr. Blyth thinks that it should probably be erased from the Indian list, as the ordinary Himalayan species, _A. rosaceus_ of Hodgson, has been confounded with it. Upon this point, however, much difference of opinion prevails. Dr. Jerdon, in his “Birds of India,” gives _rosaceus_ as a synonym of _cervinus_, and Mr. Hume is puzzled to distinguish _rosaceus_ from _arboreus_. He says (“Ibis,” 1870, p. 288): “Typical examples of both species seem unmistakably distinct, but intermediate forms of the most puzzling character occur, of such a nature that it really seems to me impossible to decide to which species they ought to be referred.”

Professor Newton considers that the Red-throated Pipit is as yet scarcely entitled to a place in the list of British Birds; nevertheless it is a bird, as he says, whose migratory habits and wide north-eastern range make it very likely to occur in this country, and probably its recognition as an occasional visitor to the British Islands is only a matter of time and observation.

THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHER.
(_Muscicapa grisola._)

The family of Flycatchers is a very large one, having representatives in all parts of the globe; but in the British Islands two species only can with propriety be included in the list of annual summer migrants. It is true that at least one other species has been met with in this country, to which allusion will be made presently; but it cannot be regarded in any other light than that of a rare and accidental visitant.

The Spotted Flycatcher (_Muscicapa grisola_), as remarked by the eminent Irish naturalist, Thompson, is probably little known, except to the observant ornithologist. Owing to the dulness of its plumage, its want of song, and its weak call being seldom heard, it is certainly one of the least obtrusive of our birds; the trees, too, having put forth their “leafy honours” before the period of its arrival, further serve to screen it from observation. It is one of the latest of our summer migrants to arrive, seldom appearing before the second week in May, and generally taking its departure during the first week of September. It is found throughout the British Islands, but is much less common in Scotland. It has, however, been found breeding as far north as Sutherland and Caithness. The situation selected by this bird for its abode during its stay with us is generally in the neighbourhood of gardens and orchards, where it takes up its quarters on a wall or fruit tree, and sallies forth into the air after passing insects. The name of Spotted Flycatcher is more appropriately bestowed upon the bird in its immature plumage, when each brown feather is tipped with a buff spot. As it grows older, these spots gradually disappear. It is a wonderfully silent bird, and even when the hen is sitting the male does not, like the males of so many other species, pour forth a song to enliven her. The nest is usually placed on a beam in a shed, in a hole in a wall, or on the branch of a wall-fruit tree, partially supported by the wall; not unfrequently it may be discovered in a summer-house. It is neatly composed of moss and fine roots, and lined with grass, horsehair, and feathers. The eggs, generally five in number, are bluish white, spotted, chiefly at the large end, with reddish brown.

The late Mr. Wheelwright found the Spotted Flycatcher inhabiting Lapland in summer, but observed that it was not nearly so common there at that season as the Pied Flycatcher. In Central and Southern Europe it is a summer resident, passing through Spain and Portugal, Italy, Turkey, and the Ionian Islands twice a year—namely, in spring and autumn. Its course in autumn appears to be south-east by south. Mr. Wright has noticed it as very common in spring and autumn in Malta, arriving there somewhat later than the Pied Flycatcher. It has been noticed by Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., as plentiful in Algeria in summer. Captain Shelley met with it once at Alexandria in May, when it was probably migrating; and Rüppell includes it without hesitation amongst the birds of North Africa.[51] In the middle of October, Von Heuglin found that it was not rare near Tadjura, and somewhat later in the year on the Somali coast. In Palestine Canon Tristram found it breeding in all parts of the country, its favourite nesting-places being in the branches of old gnarled trees overhanging the paths (“Ibis,” 1867, p. 361). How far eastward it extends I am not sure, as in China and Japan an allied species appears to take its place. But south of the Mediterranean it penetrates to South Africa. Mr. Layard says,[52] “the common European flycatcher has been brought by Mr. Andersson from Damara Land in some abundance. And Andersson himself states[53] that the bird is common in Damara and Great Namaqua Land, and is found there throughout the year. Dr. Hartlaub cites it on M. Verreaux’s authority as from the Cape, and Swainson also alludes to it as from South Africa. Since the publication of the work above quoted, Mr. Layard has been enabled to add that his son procured this bird at Grootevadersbosch, near Swellendam. From Lapland, then, to the Cape of Good Hope, and from Portugal to Palestine is a pretty extensive range for so small and weak a bird as our Common Flycatcher. I should not be surprised to hear that it is found even still further to the eastward, for so many of our summer migratory birds spend their winter in India and China, and after all the greater part of their journey would be by overland route, which admits of their travelling by stages, to rest and feed by the way.

THE PIED FLYCATCHER.
(_Muscicapa atricapilla._)

From its conspicuous black and white plumage, the Pied Flycatcher is a much more attractive species than the commoner bird. Strange to say, although of similar habits, and living on similar food, it is by no means so common as a species, nor so generally dispersed. Its presence in Scotland is always looked upon as an uncommon occurrence, and in Ireland, until recently, it was quite unknown.

During the month of April, 1875, Mr. Robert Warren, jun., of Moyview, Ballina, co. Mayo, met with this bird for the first time in his neighbourhood, and the following communication from him on the subject was published in the natural history columns of “The Field,” on the 1st of May, 1875:—“It may interest some of your ornithological readers to learn that a Pied Flycatcher (_Muscicapa atricapilla_) visited this extreme western locality on the 18th of April. My attention was first attracted by seeing it catching insects in the true flycatcher style; but, thinking it rather strange that our common Spotted Flycatcher should appear a month or six weeks earlier than usual, I watched it attentively for some time. It then struck me as having a smaller head and closer plumage than the spotted one, and occasionally I thought I observed some white marks on the wings; but, the evening light just fading, I could not be quite certain of the white marks. Although knowing it to be a flycatcher, I was not satisfied as to its identity, so next morning I returned to that part of my lawn where I had seen it the night before, and again saw it hard at work; but now having better light, and the aid of a field glass, I was not long in making out quite distinctly the white wing marks, which showed me that it was not the common _Muscicapa grisola_. I took my gun and secured what I believe to be the first specimen of _Muscicapa atricapilla_ ever shot in Ireland. Neither Thompson in his ‘Birds of Ireland,’ nor Professor Newton in his new edition of ‘Yarrell’s British Birds,’ mentions it as a visitor to Ireland, or gives any record of its capture in this island; and Mr. Harting, in his ‘Handbook of British Birds,’ p. 10, says it is unknown in Ireland. The specimen, an adult female, is now in the collection of the Royal Dublin Society.”

To this communication the editor appended the following note:—“Although we always regret to hear of the wanton destruction of a rare bird, we must admit that circumstances sometimes occur to justify an individual capture, and we think the present instance is a case in point. By the actual possession of the bird seen, Mr. Warren has been enabled to establish beyond doubt the fact of the occurrence in Ireland of a species previously unknown there, and has thus a complete answer to any sceptic who might suggest that he may have been mistaken in his identification of it.”

In England the Pied Flycatcher is a regular summer migrant, quite as much as any other of the small birds already noticed. Mr. A. G. More, in his “Notes on the Distribution of Birds in Great Britain during the Nesting Season,” regards it as a very local species, and observes that the nest has occasionally been found in North Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Isle of Wight, Surrey, Oxford, Norfolk, Gloucester, Shropshire, Leicester, and Derby. To these counties I may add Middlesex (for I have known several instances of this bird nesting as near London as at Hampstead, Highgate, and Harrow) and Essex, where the species has been met with at Leytonstone. Yarrell adds Sussex, Suffolk, Yorkshire (where I also have seen it), Worcester, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Cumberland, Westmoreland, Northumberland, and Durham, and on the southern coast, Hampshire. He makes no mention of its occurrence in Wales, neither does Mr. A. G. More in his essay above mentioned. During the summer of 1871, however, several letters appeared in the natural history columns of “The Field,” communicating the fact of its nesting in Breconshire, Denbighshire, and Merionethshire.[54] The sites selected for the nests are usually holes in walls, ruins, and pollard trees, and the nest itself is composed of roots, grass, strips of inside bark and horsehair. The eggs, five or six in number, are of a very pale blue colour, much paler, smaller, and rounder than those of the hedge sparrow. A correspondent who has taken several nests of this bird states that he never found one containing feathers; but I think I have seen one lined with feathers which had been taken out of an old birch tree in Lapland by the late Mr. H. Wheelwright. In this lamented naturalist’s entertaining book, “A Spring and Summer in Lapland,” he states that, although he never met with the Pied Flycatcher on the fells, it was to be found as far north as the birch region extends, and he generally found the nest in small dead birch stubbs by the riverside. Messrs. Godman met with it some way up the mountains to the north of Bodö in Norway, where the birch was also the favourite nesting tree. As it is common in most parts of Central and Southern Europe, and is found as far westward as Portugal, it is rather curious that Professor Savi should have so long overlooked its occurrence in Tuscany. Dr. Giglioli noticed it as abundant at Pisa in April, and, on recording it as new to the Tuscan avifauna, he added (“Ibis,” 1865, p. 56): “When I showed the numerous specimens I had procured to Professor Savi, he was much surprised, and said that, during the forty years he had been studying the ornis of this part of Italy, he had never come across the Pied Flycatcher, which, however, abounds during the spring passage at Genoa, and all along the Riviera.” It is a spring and autumn visitor in Malta; but, though often seen in the valleys and by roadsides in the neighbourhood of trees, it is not so numerous in the island as _M. grisola_. Mr. O. Salvin found the Pied Flycatcher not uncommon about Souk Harras in the Eastern Atlas, and Mr. Tyrrwhitt Drake saw it during the spring migration in Tangier and Eastern Morocco. A specimen from the River Gambia is in the collection of Mr. R. B. Sharpe. Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., during a recent tour in Algeria, encountered this amongst other familiar birds. He says (“Ibis,” 1871, p. 76): “It was not until April that I saw this species, after which it became common. In the dayats and in the Gardaia, where they most abounded, the proportion of adult males in full summer plumage to young birds and females was as one to five. They looked exceedingly picturesque in the rich foliage of the oases, clinging perhaps to a rough palm stem, though their more usual perch was the upper bough of a bush, whence they would dart off after passing flies.” To this I may add that the note frequently repeated is not unlike that of the Redstart, although softer and more agreeable, and the bird when uttering it often shuffles its wings after the manner of a Hedge Sparrow. Canon Tristram found this bird to be a summer resident in Palestine, and first noticed it in Galilee on April 23rd; but, though remaining to breed, he considered it rather a scarce bird there.

An allied species, _Muscicapa albicollis_, is generally distributed over the South of Europe, Palestine, and North Africa, which differs from the Pied Flycatcher in having the nape of the neck white instead of black; in other words, the white of the throat extends entirely round the neck. It is found in Greece, Turkey, Tuscany, Spain, Portugal, and France, less commonly in the north of France, and not in Belgium or Holland. It is singular, considering that the two species occupy the same haunts during a great portion of the year, that the White-necked Flycatcher never accompanies its more sable congener to England; yet, so far as I am aware, there is no instance of its occurrence here on record.

What is the cause which operates to restrain one species from migrating, when a closely allied bird of similar habits is impelled to take a long and perilous journey? Truly it is a curious question.

Before taking leave of our British flycatchers, it may be observed that a third species, the Red-breasted Flycatcher (_Muscicapa parva_), a native of South-eastern Europe and Western Asia, has been met with and procured on three separate occasions in Cornwall. One was taken at Constantine, near Falmouth, on Jan. 24, 1863.[55] A second was captured at Scilly in October of the same year;[56] and a third was procured also at Scilly on Nov. 5, 1865.[57] All the specimens procured were immature. The adult bird has a breast like a robin, which renders it a particularly attractive species. It is said to be not uncommon in the Crimea and in Hungary, extending eastward to Western and North-western India, where it is plentiful,[58] and is found accidentally in Italy, Switzerland, and France. Mr. Howard Saunders has reason to believe that it has been met with in Southern Spain in winter, but Col. Irby is somewhat sceptical on the point.[59]

In Sir Oswald Mosely’s “Natural History of Tutbury” (p. 385), it is reported that a pair of the North American Red-eyed Flycatcher (_Muscicapa olivacea_) appeared at Chellaston, near Derby, in May, 1859, and one of them was shot. If there was no mistake in the identification of the species, one can only suppose that the birds must have been brought over to this country in a cage, and contrived to effect their escape.

THE SWALLOW.
(_Hirundo rustica._)

Few birds have attracted more attention in all countries and in all ages than the Swallows; and the habits of those species which annually visit the British Islands have been so thoroughly investigated and so frequently described, that little originality can be claimed for the remarks which I have now to offer.